Federal Government’s Legalization of Prostitution and Matters Arising

The Nigerian prostitutes should be very grateful to President Tinubu. For the first time in Nigerian history, prostitution, which has always been stigmatized as a way of life and also criminalized in major cultures in Nigeria and in major religions, finally got the endorsement of the federal government. Prostitutes are now professionals, which they have always claimed to be. 

This is what is written about Nigerian prostitutes on Wikipedia: “The National Association of Nigerian Prostitutes (NANP) is a professional organization based in Nigeria to assist adult sex workers. The organization was formed out of opposition to the country’s prostitution laws which criminalize sex work and all of its related activities. NANP campaigns for equal access to healthcare, a safe work environment and protection from abuse and exploitation.”

I am not referring to political prostitution. It is obvious that many Nigerian politicians are political prostitutes. I am actually referring to sex workers, ashewo, run girls, olosho, karuwai, joy girls, street princess, call girls, aristo girls, whores, etc.

I last recall Nigerian prostitutes making news headlines, politically speaking, when APC defeated PDP in the 2015 presidential election. Prior to the election, the association promised free sex nationwide. The NANP said in a text message forwarded to one of the national dailies after former President Jonathan was defeated: “As part of our earlier promise, we will be declaring a three-day free sex nationwide. We want all our members to honor this directive.”

Ten years after celebrating APC’s victory, they finally got recognition. But this was, ironically, after the APC ran a Muslim-Muslim ticket. In case you are confused and could not fathom why a party that gained electoral victory through religion would legalize prostitution, you are not alone in your confusion and wonderment. What I am saying in a nutshell is that prostitutes would now pay tax according to Tinubu’s tax czar starting from January 2026. By implication, prostitution would be a legitimate profession in Tinubu’s Nigeria. 

Sometime last year, a video posted on YouTube titled “Our Children are now Prostitutes’—Frustrated Lagosian who Voted Tinubu Rains Curses on President” features one irked Lagosian Yoruba woman. In that video, she lamented that government-induced hardship (T-pain) has turned their children to prostitutes. This is not only in Lagos. It is everywhere. Even housewives resort to the ugly profession not to die of hunger. This is exactly what hunger does to the moral fabric of the society. It shatters it. Those Lagosians who shouted “ebin pa wa o (hunger dey kill us o)” knew exactly what they were going through and the consequences. One of the consequences is mass prostitution. 

While it is unthinkable that any Nigerian would expect the Tinubu government to do anything to curb prostitution, it is also unthinkable and shocking that it could decriminalize and legalize prostitution. Since the news emerged that prostitutes would start paying tax, I’ve been wondering how Muslim-Muslim clerics and the cassocked clergymen would react. As if all is well, they have so far maintained a graveyard silence. They say nothing as far as I know.

Though I have not seen (or heard of) any top government appointee addressing Muslims in any mosque on the need to support Tinubu’s sex tax reform, Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, addressed some Christian audience on the need to tax Nigerians to the marrow. 

Last Saturday, Peoples Gazette reports, Mr. Oyedele educated members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David parish in Lagos, on the reforms of the tax law signed by Mr Tinubu in June. In his explanation, Tinubu administration will levy taxes on all services rendered in exchange for money including sexual transactions.

According to Oyedele: “If somebody is doing run girls, they go and look for men to sleep with; you know that’s a service, they will pay tax on it.” I thought the RCCG members in the church would ask the tax czar why he chose the church premises—the house of the Lord—to explain the legalization of prostitution. Rather, his audience in the Lord burst into laughter. Could it be that Mr. Oyedele hypnotized his Christian audience so much so that they forgot prostitution is a sin and an abomination in the Bible? I guess this is not the case. 

Mr Oyedele continued: “One thing about the tax law” which is set to be enforced in January 2026, “it doesn’t separate whether what you’re doing is legitimate or not; it doesn’t even ask you. It just asks you whether you have an income. Did you get it from rendering a service or providing a good? You pay tax.” 

I searched further. Clerics should be saying something about the promotion of prostitution in the name of tax reform. My search yielded nothing. Could it be that they are waiting to see it implemented before they bark? Are they doubting Thomases? But I think it is better to act quickly before all Nigerian girls become prostitutes. If democracy is the yardstick, prostitution is a choice and a profession. Stigmatizing or disrespecting a prostitute might land one in jail. When prostitutes start paying tax, they are as responsible as any responsible citizens. 

I am disturbed that those who should speak out keep mum. However, and fortunately, I found a Civil Society Organization, under the umbrella of the Civil Society Organisations on Community Advancement and Humanitarian Empowerment Initiative (CSCHEI) already kicking. This assuaged my fear. The organization faulted the federal government’s new tax policy requiring sex workers and individuals who engage in illicit activities to pay taxes.

CSCHEI is said to be a UN-recognized platform supervising and promoting CSOs, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), and NGOs within Nigeria’s socio-economic development space. The organization said the policy contradicts global efforts to fight cybercrime and internet fraud.

CSCHEI strongly opposed Tinubu’s sex tax. Its Director-General, Kunle Yusuff, argued that it could undermine the fight against crime. This is true. He said, in a statement published by Vanguard: “Instead of encouraging tax payments from those engaged in illicit activities, the government should focus on shaping the minds of Nigerians positively and promoting digital economy opportunities that foster legitimate entrepreneurship.” 

This is how to think. This is being proactive. We cannot stand arm akimbo and watch the government as it is about to aid and abet criminality—knowingly or unknowingly—in the name of tax. We should not forget that Omoleye Sowore recently open his mouth and disrespectfully and foully called our dear President a criminal. The case is in court. I wonder what Sowore’s evidence would be. However, knowing now, through the tax czar, that the tax reform is set to legalize every illicit and criminal act through taxation, I am afraid Sowore knows what he is talking about.

Except the federal government subjects its tax reform to another reform and smoothens its rough edges, another Thomas Hobbes’ state of nature might be witnessed in Nigeria where life will be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Can anyone imagine how life would be in Nigeria if hard drugs were sold openly and addicts use them in public unrestrained? All that is needed to protect their businesses is to pay tax. Bello Turji and other bandits might choose to abandon the bush and relocate to major towns, cities and state capitals after they must have registered and pay tax. Hisbah in those northern states might be disbanded. The NDLEA, the Police Force, and other law enforcement agents might just go on holiday because there would be little or no work to do. 

I urge President Tinubu to either advise himself or call his tax czar to order before his tax reform plunges us into the Hobbesian state of nature. 

Listen to Oyedele again: “It [the tax reform] doesn’t separate whether what you’re doing is LEGITIMATE or NOT; it doesn’t even ask you.” Whether you are a bandit, a highway robber, a prostitute, a human trafficker, or not. “It just asks you whether you have an income… You pay tax.” 

We are in real trouble. May God keep us safe.

Abdulkadir Salaudeen 

salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com